Polymer‐Based Photonic Crystals

Abstract

In this report, we highlight the development of polymers as 1D photonic crystals and subsequently place special emphasis on the activities in self-assembled block copolymers as a promising platform material for new photonic crystals. We review recent progress, including the use of plasticizer and homopolymer blends of diblock copolymers to increase periodicity and the role of self-assembly in producing 2D and 3D photonic crystals. The employment of inorganic nanoparticles to increase the dielectric contrast and the application of a biasing field during self-assembly to control the long-range domain order and orientation are examined, as well as in-situ tunable materials via a mechanochromic materials system. Finally, the inherent optical anisotropy of extruded polymer films and side-chain liquid-crystalline polymers is shown to provide greater degrees of freedom for further novel optical designs.